Michael Phelps and Greatness

Hasn’t he ever heard of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? But Phelps isn’t chasing the same old goals. As he shifts to focusing on shorter races, he hopes the new freestyle technique will increase his sprinting speed.

“You’ll all have to see. I’m not saying anything until we unveil it,” Phelps said with a grin when asked how he’s tweaked the stroke. “It’s a significant change. You’ll be able to tell exactly what I did as soon as I take my first stroke.”

Great players are willing to change to stay ahead of the competition, even when their legacy is secure. LeBron James changed his free throw shooting approach this season, even though he was already arguably the best player in the game.

Phelps is changing his technique to stay on top. Staying the same is falling behind, even for the greatest.

Are you willing to make the necessary changes to your routine, your technique or your practice habits to improve? If not, how good do you really want to be?